Evacuation Trip Two - Palestine, Texas

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Scott and I parted ways on Sunday morning. He went back to work in Houston and I made my way (with the 2 boys) to Palestine for our next stop on the Hurricane Ike traveling Texas tour. Both of the boys were surprisingly well behaved on my first 3 hour trip alone. Ben slept the entire way (thank you, thank you son) and Sam entertained me by singing nursery rhymes, pointing out EVERY horse/cow that we passed (trust me, there were many) and saying hilarious things like, “Where did all the cars go? Where's the highway?” You can tell a majority of his childhood has been spent in traffic.

Once we made it to Palestine, we spent the next few days enjoying the simple and calm life of a small town. We spent every morning, afternoon and night playing in my parents’ backyard. We practically had to drag Sam in to take a bath each night. My Dad and Sam spent a lot of time playing lacrosse (and my Mom being the good grandma even played a few rounds herself) while I hung out on the porch with Ben.

The boys got to spend Tuesday morning at my Gigi’s house (truly the sweetest lady you will ever meet). She was such a trooper even though Ben screamed most of the time. Don’t worry Gigi, you’re still his favorite! Unfortunately, he didn’t get to enjoy any of her good home cooking on this trip but as Sam likes to say, “Ben can’t eat…he doesn’t have teeth!”

But the best news of all came Tuesday night. I came outside after feeding Ben and my mom told me we had power!!! It’s sad but I honestly got chills when I heard the news. She had just gotten off the phone with Scott, and said he sounded more excited than she had heard him in the longest time. Thank you Centerpoint Energy. I apologize for cursing your name all those days.

While we were sad for our short stay in P-town, we couldn’t have been more excited to be going home after almost 2 WEEKS of being away from home. But have no fear Palestine, we'll be back in a few weeks to ride Thomas the Train.

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Evacuation Trip One - Austin, Texas

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Well, we’ve made it to our second Ike evacuation destination, Palestine. My Dad actually had a cord that fit my camera so I thought I would send some photos from our stay in Austin. As you can see, we had a great time hanging out in the Sheehan’s backyard. Sam loved teasing Kallie (the Sheehan’s dog) by attaching her toy to the back of his tractor and pulling her around the yard. You might be surprised to know how many hours of enjoyment this could provide. Ben spent most of his day sleeping, sleeping and sleeping some more (but he’s definitely “woken up” the past few days as everyone in Palestine can attest to). He LOVES being outside as much as Sam so I envision many outdoor, “sleeping in tent” adventures in my future. Those of you that know me well know that this will be very hard for me to embrace…

I’m sure you have noticed by looking at the pictures that we have on the same 2 outfits in every picture. See here’s the thing, Scott told me to “pack light” and for some reason I actually listened to him. So, for 2 weeks now we’ve been washing our clothes every night so they would be clean for the next day. This isn’t that terrible for Scott and I, but those of you with children know how many clothes an almost 3 year old that loves to play outside and a 4 week old that loves to spit up can go through in a day.

While we are desperately awaiting the phone call from Scott that says we have power, we’re trying to make the most of spending time with our closest family and friends. So, if you are reading this and are jealous that we haven’t spent a week at your house (ha! ha!)…just wait because we might be knocking on your door next week begging you to take us in!

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Hurricane Update

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Well, we’re still part of the more than 1 million people who are without power in Houston. Progress is being made (slowly…) so we’re trying to stay optimistic that we’ll be in the next wave of houses that regain power.

While we’ve enjoyed our stay in Austin (visiting with family/friends, enjoying old hangouts) we’re SO anxious to get home and back to our old routine. Scott will return to Houston tomorrow and will be staying with generous friends until we regain power. He has a list of things to get done before we return, and at the top of the terrible “To Do” list is cleaning out our fridge that has been without power for over a week. If you hear screams in the distance tomorrow morning, I’m sure it’s Scott reacting to the smell. Poor guy…

The boys and I are headed to Palestine (my parents’ house) tomorrow as well. I know life on the road hasn’t been easy on them, but they are taking the situation in stride. I’ve taken some adorable pictures of the boys while we’ve been away and hope to get them uploaded as soon as we get back to Houston.

It’s also crazy to note that Ben will turn 4 weeks old on Monday. He’s being a real trooper and is learning to get by without the finer things in life (i.e. stroller, swing, etc).

While the past week has had its ups and downs, we know that we’ve been terribly blessed to have a cool and free place to retreat to while we wait for life to return to “normal” in Houston. There are lots of people that haven’t been so lucky. I know that everyone has their charities that they support each year, but if you have a few extra dollars lying around at the end of the month, I encourage you to donate to help the thousands of displaced people due to Hurricane Ike. The American Red Cross’s National Disaster Relief Fund link is below.

https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?idb=109958666&df_id=1086&1086.donation=form1

Hopefully, we’ll be back in Houston by the end of the week. Until then, we continue our tour of Texas…

Hurricane Ike

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We've received so many emails/phone calls checking to see how things are in Houston. We bailed yesterday morning and are waiting out the storm in Austin. We have lots of friends/family who are hunkered down in Houston (and the surrounding areas), so please say a quick prayer for them and their safety over the next few days.

Ben's 2 week check-up

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Ben had his 2 week check-up today and is growing like crazy. Here are his measurements:

Length – 21 ¼” (75%)
Weight – 8 lbs, 13 oz (60%)
Head – 15” (70%)

The Sheehan's come to town

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Scott’s family came to visit the boys this past weekend. Ben slept most of the time and Sam entertained everyone by running around the house in the astronaut suit that Scott’s brother, Jim, brought with him. The space suit is a gift for Ben (fits an 18 month old which is why the pants look like capri pants on Sam) but Sam couldn’t resist putting it on. You should have heard the negotiations between Sam and Scott when it was time to get in the bath last night…someone did not want to remove the astronaut outfit.

The Boys

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Ben will be 2 weeks old tomorrow so I thought I would send some recent pics of the boys hanging out together. Ben is finally starting to wake up (and get hungry) so we’re having more and more sleep interrupted nights. But he’s just so cute that you have to forgive the 3am breakdowns. Everyone keeps asking if he looks like Sam. In the beginning we definitely thought so…but the older he gets, the less he looks like Sam.

Sam, for the most part, is adjusting great. We definitely have a few more unnecessary temper tantrums (which seem to peak most when others are around…of course!) but random strangers at the park are always telling us it’s normal and they’ll be the best of friends in a few years. Sam does love to try to shove Ben’s paci in his mouth at the most random of times, and loves to say “get that cry out” (which he heard his father say) when Ben tunes up.

We love our boys!

Houston, We have a problem!

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